Japan’s Mizuho Bank plans to issue its own stablecoin

Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency in March, according to a report fromNikkei Asian Review. J-Coin is going to be a stablecoin with a fixed value of 1 Japanese Yen per unit. As a stablecoin, J-Coin’s value won’t fluctuate as wildly as other cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin or monero. The bank has the support of 60 regional domestic banks and is already being trialed.

J-Coin will provide a cashless mode of transactions; you’ll be able to use your smartphone to pay for goods. A mobile phone with a downloaded dedicated app will be all that’s needed to make a payment with the new stablecoin. Nikkei Asian Review reports retailers using J-Coin “will be charged fees significantly lower than for credit card services,” thus promoting this cashless payment type. The payment itself will be made with the use of QR codes.